A South Island Farewell at Upton Oaks

Having travelled through the gardens of New Zealand’s North Island for 6 days, followed by 11 days on the South Island, we were about to visit our last South Island garden before taking the inter-island ferry from Picton to Wellington for our final 3 days. After the morning spent at Marlborough’s Barewood Garden followed by Paripuma on the shores of Cook Strait, we pulled up to a welcoming sign that gave a hint at the formal bones of this garden in the village of Rapaura just northwest of Blenheim……

….. and peeked over the fence at a charming 1911 house framed by foliage.

Owner Sue Monahan was waiting to greet us all and explain a little about her garden, which she has designed as a series of hedge-enclosed ‘rooms’,…..

….. then we were free to wander. I walked in front of the house, with its ‘Burgundy Iceberg’ roses and Auratum lilies wafting perfume….

…..near the welcoming front veranda.

Nearby was the first section of Sue’s formal garden where we walked among four hedged parterres…..

…… each segmented into either square or diamond patterns. (As with all our Marlborough gardens on this day, the bright sun created too much contrast for good photography, but I tried my best.)

Sue had organized the sections loosely by colour, including reds….

….. and whites. I like this mid-summer (January in New Zealand) combination of dahlia and phlox.

Sue used loads of dahlias in lovely colours in these beds….

…. and the singles were attracting bees.

Dahlias are such good workhorses when they’re grown well, and Sue had paired this luscious deep-pink…..

….. with thalictrum, one of the best see-through plants.

Adding its own purple punch was cardoon (Cynara cardunculus).

The adjacent garden room featured lawn and four flower beds with a central formal pool.  The shade beds contained hydrangeas and agapanthus….

…. and the circular pool featured water lilies and a fountain.

I loved this impressive spiral topiary.


In times cialis side effects of medical emergency every little help is invaluable. Why is this? Well for starters, for the reason that every last single one of the signs and symptoms can help determine when to contact a professional doctor? If you are constantly ejaculated within one minute and a half after beginning and none of home remedies have worked then you should choose this solution to let it allow canadian cheap viagra rectifying your inability in order to make you able. The benefits include better health, better lovemaking session, and longevity. purchase cheap levitra It 25mg barato viagra is quite normal for experiencing Erectile Dysfunction while suffering from erectile dysfunction.
It was a hot afternoon, and Sue had set chairs out in the shade.

I could only imagine how welcoming this swimming pool would be in New Zealand’s warm summers…..

….. or the hammocks hanging in the leafy shade of the olive grove.

There was even a dovecote with a flock of white pigeons!

At the back of the property was a lovely little garden…..

….. that belonged to Upton Oak’s guest cottage……

…….named Laurella, after the Monahans’ daughters. There is a wonderful story about how this cottage, which can be rented as a Bed-and-Breakfast with a minimum 2-night stay, came to be moved to Upton Oaks, where Dave Monahan, a well-known woodworker, refurbished it.

This is the wedding gazebo in front of Laurella….

…. and when we were there, Dave was building a new cottage on the site….

…. which will complement Laurella.

On the way to the dining terrace for lunch, I walked through a little orchard and passed a brick wall espaliered with fruit trees.

Nearby was a potager bursting with edibles.

Before sitting down to lunch, I visited the washroom, where Sue had made a lovely bouquet of flowers from her abundant garden.

Then it was time to find a seat on the terrace…..

….. and enjoy our catered lunch. It reminded me that we had been so privileged to dine al fresco in some of the most outstanding gardens in New Zealand during our tour thus far – a great testament to our NZ-born, Pennsylvania-based tour leader Richard Lyon’s expansive network of gardeners.

We bade farewell to Sue and Dave Monahan…….

……then proceeded towards the little town of Picton and the Interislander ferry terminal for our afternoon sail to Wellington and the North Island.

6 thoughts on “A South Island Farewell at Upton Oaks

  1. Another treasure in the South Island of fNew Zealand not far from Wellington.
    Credit certainly goes to your tour leader Richard Lyons with the research that he has done to unearth some of the hidden exquisite New Zealand gardens.
    Thanks Janet for putting this together.
    Now mere mortals like myself has found out that there lots of gardens that the public can visit .

    Nga mihi
    Ana..

  2. Another treasure in the South Island of fNew Zealand not far from Wellington.
    Credit certainly goes to your tour leader Richard Lyons with the research that he has done to unearth some of the hidden exquisite New Zealand gardens.
    Thanks Janet for putting this together.
    Now mere mortals like myself has found out that there lots of gardens that the public can visit .

    Nga mihi
    Ana..

    • Hi Ana – Sorry, this went into my spam filter and I’m just getting to reply now. So happy you got to “see” these gardens in my blogs. Maybe you’ll get to open their actual gates one day. Janet

  3. Janet I am very privileged to see this beautiful garden through your lenses , thank you.

    As you know that New Zealand is now in the second week of the Lockdown due to Covid-19, your post has given me comfort and reassurance to see what is on our backyard “on Virtual”

    Keep well and stay safe and I am looking forward to more of your post.

    Kia Kaha…Stay Strong 💪

    Arohanui ..🙏🏽❤️🌺🌸💕☀️

      • Thank you 🙏🏽 Janet..

        Have a restful weekend..

        The sun is shining in Wellington.

        So I will spend some time self isolating and social distancing in my happy place..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *